737 SOP landing flap selected on downwind leg. Curious technique?
Question out of curiosity, An Aussie domestic airline flying 737's has an SOP is to use idle reverse for landings to reduce maintenence costs as well as fuel savings. The same airline has a stated policy of selecting landing flap on the downwind leg of a circuit before turning base leg. The apparent reason is because pilots were having trouble looking out the window for the runway while judging the descent on base and final and keeping stable. Airlines having been flying jets for over half a century yet suddenly todays airline pilots seem to have lost the skill to fly a visual stable approach without resorting to full flap late downwind to aid them fly a stable approach. Fuel savings policy goes out the window. Full flap downwind would be a nasty time to have a bird strike and lose an engine.